A German court has ruled that eBay must remove adult media items when it knows that they are listed on its site. The Federal Court of Justice, Germany’s highest civil court, said that “If the company knows about an illegal offer, it must delete the item from the Web site and take precautions that the seller will not offer similar products again.” German law limits the sales of books, films and games with pornographic and violent content to shops which prohibit access by minors.
A lower court had previously ruled that eBay did not necessarily have to take action to remove such items, as it does not sell the products itself, but only provides a venue for sellers.
An eBay spokesperson said “We are certain we already adhere to what the court now said.”
